Iranian foreign minister: U.S. has responsibility to end Israel conflict

By Adam Sneed

07/13/14 12:00 PM EDT

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Sunday called on the United States and the United Nations Security Council to bring an end to the most recent wave of violence in Israel and Gaza.

“The United States and the members of the Security Council have a moral and legal responsibility to put an end to this,” he said in an interview with David Gregory on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Zarif criticized the United States for “not taking any action” in the conflict, which has seen persistent rocket fire into Israel and more than 100 deaths in Gaza. The United States, he said, should publicly condemn Israel’s military action in Gaza and call on the Security Council to intervene.

Asked if he would denounce the rocket attacks into Israel, Zarif said Iran would “not condemn people who are defending themselves.”

Former U.S. Middle East Envoy Martin Indyk, who appeared in a separate interview with Gregory on Sunday, said Israel is prepared to agree to a cease-fire.

“The problem is how do you get Hamas to agree to a cease-fire?” he said. “They’re looking for something that they can claim is a victory, and they’re looking for somebody to pay for the salaries of Hamas people in Gaza, because they’ve been cut off from their … sources of revenue.”

Ultimately, Indyk said, the violence is likely to continue until Hamas decides to call off its rocket fire.